3 Gateway High School graduates among recipients of William C. & Susan A. DeLaney Scholarship

Three Gateway High School graduates recently received scholarships from the William C. & Susan A. DeLaney Scholarship Fund.

Lance Young, Mia Thomas and Nia Latham were among the five students to receive funds.

Young, a 2021 Gateway graduate with plans to attend Robert Morris University, received a $1,000 scholarship; Mia Thomas, a 2019 Gateway gradattending Penn State University, received a $500 Special Recognition scholarship; and Nia Latham, a 2019 grad attending Clarion University, received a $500 Special Recognition scholarship.

“I am passionate about the education of students and particularly those who may not have as many financial opportunities to go to college,” said Susan DeLaney, curator of the scholarship.

This is the fourth year the scholarships have been awarded to students in Allegheny County. Typically, only high school students are eligible for the scholarship. This year, DeLaney made an exception to award the “special recognition” scholarships to two college students because of an issue that came up with other scholarships they were supposed to receive.

“I wanted to honor them for doing so well in college,” she said.

DeLaney created the scholarship in memory of her late husband William DeLaney, who passed away in December 2017. She wanted to carry out his passion for entrepreneurship and desire to help inspire African-American students to pursue a post-secondary career. Since its inception, the scholarship has been awarded to 13 students in Allegheny County, she said.

According to the scholarship fund’s website, the scholarship is awarded to African-American high school seniors with a minimum GPA of 2.5, who reside in and attend a high school in Allegheny County. Applicants must be planning to attend a college or university.

Money for the scholarships comes through fundraising and donations, Delaney said. Although funds have been steady, she said applicants have decreased over the past couple of years.

“It has dwindled since the pandemic, but I feel like it will pick back up again,” she said.

Despite the decline, DeLaney is happy she can contribute to what she sees as an “invest into our future.”

“If we can invest in young people’s futures through education, vocational training or anything else, we help make a better place for us,” DeLaney said.

The other two students who were awarded scholarships were Zharia White, an Obama Academy graduate and Jacoby Dupree, a graduate of the Neighborhood Academy private school in Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood.